Why Everyone Prefers Eating at a Restaurant’s Bar, Bon Appétit: I love to eat at the bar!

There’s no reason the bar should get dismissed as a waiting room for the rest of the restaurant—if you’re willing to forgo the lumbar support, those stools are often the best seats in the house.

“Diner’s bar is a cultural epicenter, if that makes any sense,” says John Connolly, the longtime general manager of both Marlow & Sons and Diner. All of the restaurants in the group have bars front and center, but Diner’s dining room is dominated by its long marble countertop, making the booths and tables around it seem like minor moons in comparison.

Which makes sense, since Diner was built as more of a hangout spot than a real restaurant. Andrew Tarlow, one of the restaurant’s co-founders (and its current owner, no co-), says that “at the time, at least in my mind, we were really opening a clubhouse that we could maybe monetize.” But as Diner slowly morphed from a bar with food to a restaurant that mostly consisted of a bar, the countertop’s virtues as a dining table became clear.

Part of the bar’s value, from a restaurateur’s point of view, is its versatility. Solo diners can drop in without having to hog a two-top, and a friendly word from a bartender can free up enough space at the bar for a whole new party—after all, you can’t exactly ask a couple to slide down to the next booth in the middle of their meal.

But the bar really shines when it comes to the social life of a restaurant. Instead of facing the friends you came with, closed off in a table bubble, the bar opens you up to your fellow diners, and lets you actually form a relationship with the bartender. Which is exactly how a customer turns into something more: a regular.

“We have a couple of regulars for sure that probably know the bartenders’ schedules better than I do,” Connolly says, and the regulars themselves can back him up.

“I think I could count on my hands and toes the number of times I’ve sat at a table,” says Tom Morrison, a Diner regular and bartender at the SoHo bar The Room. “Except when I’m on a date, which—I don’t really like to bring dates here, because this is where I hang ou

BEIJING—China\’s family-planning agency is projecting a slow rollout for an easing of its one-child policy, underscoring reluctance by the government in moving too quickly to let some couples have two children and a law in place for decades.

The policy change—announced Friday as part of a blueprint for economic and social reforms drawn up by the Communist Party leadership—will allow married couples to have two children if one spouse is an only child. The tweak drew cheers from many Chinese, who dislike the constraints on family size, and from demographers, who have long called for changes to redress a rapidly aging society.

Family-planning officials in China sounded a cautionary note about changes to the country\’s decades-old one-child policy, saying they will ease controls gradually and that the change won\’t lead to a \’pileup\’ of births. Above, a child looks into a window in Beijing. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

A senior family-planning official, however, sounded a cautionary note in comments carried by state media over the weekend. The Xinhua news agency quoted Wang Peian, deputy director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, as saying that the change wouldn\’t lead to a swell of new births. \”China\’s population will not grow substantially in the short term,\” Xinhua quoted him as saying.

Le Triskell French Creperie, Cheap Eats | Creative Loafing Atlanta: Tried this one last summer, good, but not worth a return. I greatly prefer Juliana’s for crepes in Atlanta.

MEAL PLAN: Before settling in Atlanta, French natives Michel and Rose-Marie Knopfler had three award-winning French restaurants in Hong Kong. However, the 1998 financial crisis and resulting business closures prompted the Knopflers to let their leases end and sell their interest in the restaurants. Rose-Marie often visited Atlanta for seminars and met friends who urged her to move her family here and open a French restaurant. The Knopflers started small with catering and deliveries, but soon decided to branch out into a little storefront selling crêpes and other French specialties.

OUTTA SIGHT: Le Triskell is the epitome of a hidden restaurant. It’s tucked inside the Tuxedo Atrium, a small building housing a mishmash of businesses, including a dentist, a salon and a tiny health club. If you have time on your hands, enjoy a meal at one of the bistro tables inside the sunlit atrium and amuse yourself with the steady stream of people that filters in. It’s theater of the living at its best.

THE SAVORY: Since Rose-Marie is from Bretagne, the birthplace of crêpes, Le Triskell offers many different versions. The galettes – traditional gluten-free crêpes made with buckwheat flour – is a vehicle for savory crêpes such as La Complete, a gooey ham and Swiss crêpe topped with a perfectly fried egg. …

POLISHED PORTABLES: In addition to its sandwiches and salads, Le Triskell typically offers eight to 10 prepared French “casseroles.” They’re a lazy-night dinner or an easy way to cater – and impress – at your next picnic. Choose from an ever-changing assortment of dishes, including boeuf bourguignon, salmon in mustard sauce, baked ziti, or tomatoes stuffed with ground beef, rice and herbed breadcrumbs.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Le Triskell French Crêperie is an oasis of French charm in Buckhead with food as delightful as its hospitable owners.

Schadenfreude i/ˈʃɑːdənfrɔɪdə/ German: [ˈʃaːdənˌfʁɔʏdə] is pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.[1] This word is a loanword from German. The literal English translation is Harm-Joy. It is the feeling of joy or pleasure when one sees another fail or suffer misfortune. It is also borrowed by some other languages.

blogging, kith/kin, How Do You Sleep At Night?: One of my favoorite people has started a blog. He is always thoughtful, careful with his words, demanding intellectually and challenging in a good way. So here’s his intro … How Do You Sleep At Night?

The title of this blog comes from a question that all criminal defense lawyers hear at some point in their lives, and to which I was subjected (along with several insults and ill-wishes upon me and my family) today on, of all places, Facebook. An individual convicted of a homicide in PA involving a toddler is apparently up for parole, and a person who was outraged by this characterized the individual’s defense attorney as a “slimeball”. I foolishly inquired as to why the attorney was a “slimeball”, and was quickly informed that it was because he had done his job and represented his client as best he could. I then, even more foolishly, responded that this was also my line of work, and if that made me a “slimeball”, oh well. It was then that a nice person whom I\’ve never met asked me the question of my sleeping habits, suggested that perhaps bad things should happen to members of my family (boy, would that teach me) and informed me that I made them ill. They also informed me that my “fat wallet” was not worth being a “slimeball”. The “fat wallet” comment was especially hilarious since, as I said, I represent mostly indigent clients and get paid an hourly rate lower than any plumber or other repairman who comes to your house.

So, how do I sleep at night? Usually just fine, thanks. I really and truly believe what we were taught about the Bill of Rights and stuff…you know, that everyone is presumed innocent, that no one should go to jail unless the State can prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, that everyone (yeah, everyone) is entitled to a lawyer (preferably one who knows what the hell they’re doing) and a vigorous defense, and, ESPECIALLY, that if you make sure that the system gives the worst of the worst a fair trial then the system as a whole works better for everyone. I’ve met a lot of people along the way. Some who have done really terrible things. But I’ll tell you a secret. I can count on one hand the number of folks I’ve represented who were just flat-out bad people. Most got to where they were through combinations of factors. Part of my job is to try and get judges and juries to see that. Sometimes I can. Often I can’t.

That’s how this little venture got its name. I’ll post about stuff that comes up in my cases and other legal matters going on around the country. As a forewarning, I can get a little blunt and am not afraid to curse if the spirit moves me. If you want to comment, have at it….for those that know me, you already know I like to argue.

Oatmeal, 9 Common Mistakes, Bon Appétit: Good advice. I love oatmeal and grits for breakfast in winter. These are good suggestions!

Oatmeal is the classic “healthy” breakfast—but chances are, you’ve had a disappointing bowl of it at some point in your life. Perhaps you’ve pondered if there was more to morning life than this sad, gray, gluey bowl of semi-warm oats while dreaming of a hot, gooey egg and cheese sandwich. Or wished it was just a little hotter, a little creamier, a little more fun.

Guess what? Oatmeal doesn’t have to be this way. Our test kitchen editors Alison Roman and Dawn Perry love a good bowl of oatmeal, as long as it’s done right. We talked to them about the mistakes people are making when they make this hot breakfast cereal—and if you avoid them, you might even pass up that egg sandwich for a fragrant, steamy bowl of the healthy stuff.

cats, Smart News: Cats, according to new research, recognize their owner’s voice. They just can’t be bothered to react to it … No suprise there …

Cats, according to new research, recognize their owner’s voice. They just can’t be bothered to react to it.

Researchers in Japan arrived at this conclusion after performing experiments with twenty house cats. They played recordings of the cats’ owners’ calling to their pets in whatever cat-talk voice they typically used. They also played recordings of three strangers calling to the cats, using the same words.

To quantify the cats’ reactions, the researchers recorded how often cats moved their head, tail, paws or ears, or whether they meowed or dilated their pupils. While the cats showed a significantly greater response to their owners calling their names than to strangers doing so, they did not bother to get up in either instance, the researchers found.

My Advent photo-a-day prompt was “PEACE” … so I immediately went to my labyrinth walking and from there went to scripture and liturgy … Where does the word “peace” take you?

Advent Photo #3: PEACE

John 14:27 (NIV)

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

…

The Passing of the Peace

By Rev. Rebecca

St. Paul always greeted and closed with the words, “The peace of God be with you” in his pastoral letters. This is an appropriate way to greet fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and so we say, “The peace of the Lord be with you” and respond, “And also with you.” We then pass this greeting of peace to one another. At the passing of the peace we should earnestly desire God’s peace upon each person we greet. The passing of the peace is also a sign of obedience to Jesus’ words that we make peace with one another before offering our gifts at the altar (Matt. 5:23-24).

The name itself makes them seem old. Ancient, really. Like something pre-Christian, something that might be unearthed among long-lost ruins.

But labyrinths – wandering pathways like the one Greek myths say Daedalus devised to imprison the monstrous Minotaur – are in the midst of a modern renewal.

For the last couple of decades, labyrinths based on a medieval model have cropped up at churches, retreats, private homes, even health-care institutions across the country and across Georgia and north metro Atlanta. They’re catching on with the faithful as a way to momentarily escape the distractions of modern life.

Mary Caroline Cravens of Buckhead, president of St. Monica’s Guild at the Cathedral of St. Philip, said she’s found an “amazing release” walking labyrinths. “You feel refreshed. Rejuvenated. Lighter. Calmer,” she said. “I think it’s because you’re leaving whatever burden it was [you brought in with you] in God’s hands.”

And finally, just a few minutes ago, I saw this. I had a delightful conversation with a kith sister and we talked briefly about the relationships of our children’s generation with religion, noting the spiritual v. religion dichotomy. This Krista Tippett tweet brought peace into a full circle “if you give a moose a muffin” moment.

Krista Tippett ‏@kristatippett 38s

Spiritual life is reality-based. It can have mystical entry points and destinations. But it is at root about making peace with what is.

This first version was… surprisingly not awful. But it also was not anything else. The flavors just canceled each other out, and it was bland. So I started over. The second time, I blended some Greek finishing salt (it’s flaky so it crumbles easily) with the potato chips, and instead of the buttermilk, used half & half and fresh Meyer lemon juice to instantly “sour” it. Finally, I added a dollop of actual applesauce to amp up the apple flavor and provide some texture, without too much syrupy sweetness. The result? Cool, creamy but not cloying, and with a little salty crunch from the rim. Success!

I noticed that the ingredients did start to separate after about ten minutes. But hey, latkes don’t taste good cold, either. –E.C. Gladstone

What makes an invention great? Sometimes it solves a problem you didn’t think could be solved. Skyscrapers can’t turn invisible. Pens can’t write in midair. Paraplegics can’t walk. Except now they can. And sometimes an invention solves a problem you didn’t know you had. Maybe you didn’t realize you needed to eat a doughnut and a croissant at the same time, or resurrect an extinct frog, or turn your entire body into a living password. Now you do. Want a list of the best things that were invented in 2013? Now you have one. Just keep reading.

In 2013 a new fusion food joined the ranks of the ice cream cake and the turducken. The cronut—made of croissant-style pastry that’s fried like a doughnut, filled with cream and topped with glaze—transfixed foodies when New York City chef Dominique Ansel started selling it in May. His recipe inspired imitations around the world, and customers proved willing to wait hours for a taste; scalpers were even hawking the $5 treats for up to $40.

The 3Doodler is a new kind of pen that doodles in three dimensions instead of two. Essentially it works like a 3-D printer, melting and cooling colored plastic to create rigid, freestanding structures in any shape imaginable (sort of like a hot-glue gun but better). Invented by Maxwell Bogue, Peter Dilworth and Daniel Cowen at the Boston-based toy company WobbleWorks, the 3Doodler raised over $2 million on Kickstarter (they were shooting for $30,000) and can be preordered online for $99.

An Olympic-size pool designed to float in the less-than-crystal-clear East River, the Plus Pool kills two birds with one stone: it cleans the river water and gives New Yorkers a place to swim. Its unique filtration system scrubs the water as it floats through it, while its distinctive plus-sign shape isolates different wings for different activities. Designed by Dong-Ping Wong, Archie Lee Coates IV and Jeffrey Franklin, the pool could make it possible for New Yorkers to dive into clean river water for the first time in 100 years. So far the $15 million project has been funded by Kickstarter, but the team is still raising money to get the pool up and floating by the summer of 2016.

The Atlanta History Center’s Capitol Tour experience offers visitors an opportunity to pay tribute to Atlanta’s burgeoning film industry as well as Swan House’s new chapter in cinematic history. http://ow.ly/qTwHr

Love unites all, whether created or uncreated. The heart of God, the heart of all creation, and our own hearts become one in love. That’s what all the great mystics have been trying to tell us through the ages. Benedict, Francis, Hildegard of Bingen, Hadewijch of Brabant, Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Dag Hammarskjöld, Thomas Merton, and many others, all in their own ways and their own languages, have witnessed to the unifying power of the divine love.

The Swan House at the Atlanta History Center was one of many Georgia set locations used during the filming of the movie The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

The 39 House Democrats who voted to reinstate sales of insurance policies canceled under the Affordable Care Act had this in common: Most are being targeted by the House Republican campaign arm for their position on the health law.

The National Republican Congressional Committee has gone into overdrive, tailoring news releases around about dozens of Democrats like Reps. Ron Barber (D., Ariz.) and Patrick Murphy (D., Fla.), who are thought to be vulnerable in the 2014 elections. Friday’s vote showed the pressure appears to be working.

“I would imagine that there would be more and more attacks coming for months on end,” Mr. Murphy, a freshman, told reporters shortly before voting in favor of the Republican-led bill.

The 39 Democrats were four more than the 35 who voted for a GOP bill in July to delay the laws’ mandate on businesses – the previous high water mark in Republicans’ efforts to win Democratic support for rolling back the health care law. The 39 Democrats also tracked closely with the roughly 40 Democrats facing pressure from the NRCC.

George W. Bush: This is an old one. But, personally and politically, I think this was a mistake.

There will be two notable absences at Wednesday’s commemoration to mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington: George H.W. and George W. Bush.

Both former presidents were invited to participate in Wednesday’s celebration, which will feature speeches from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by President Obama as well as former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. But both Bushes are dealing with health issues and decided it best to skip the event.

“He’s doing fine, but he’s not able to get up to Washington this week,” said Freddy Ford, a spokesman for George W. Bush, who is still recuperating after undergoing surgery this month for an arterial blockage.

Ford stressed that the younger Bush’s recovery is going well, and that Bush even managed to stop by the Southern Methodist University’s football practice on Tuesday

Blockbuster, once synonymous with video rentals, had encountered a steady decline in business as rental services such as Netflix Inc. NFLX -1.77% and Outerwall Inc. OUTR +1.23% \’s Redbox increasingly cut into its business. More recently, Blockbuster has had to contend with growing streaming and on-demand services that consumers can use without leaving their homes.

Blockbuster tried to compete with its own mail business, but that will end in the middle of December, Dish said. However, Dish said it would retail licensing rights to the Blockbuster brand, including its video library, and that it would continue its Blockbuster @Home and On Demand services.

A tweet can be used to share links, media, and status updates. But could it soon be used to share Starbucks coffee?

That\’s the promise of a new partnership launched today, Monday, by Twitter and Starbucks, which enables gift certificates to be exchanged via tweets. Called the tweet-a-coffee program, the service allows for spur-of-the-moment acts of generosity between friends, with little to no friction: Just tweet at another Twitter user in order to give a $5 digital eGift hassle-free. It\’s certainly a novel marketing tool. But the larger significance here is how companies like Starbucks are gradually beginning to see Twitter as a potential ecommerce platform.

Programs like Snapchat and other social sites are taking off, and the way these things usually work is that whatever technology teenagers are using today, young adults, and then older adults, will be using tomorrow. Tumblr, Pinterest, Snapchat: All billion-dollar valuations today, and all got their start among the high school and college crowd. Young people’s Internet behavior predicts everybody’s Internet behavior. The fact that they’re getting bored could mean that Facebook is becoming boring—a dangerous idea for a company that relies on the idle time of average people.

Or it could just mean that Facebook has grown up right in line with its audience.

Prof. David Botstein, former director of Princetons Lewis-Siegler Institute for Integrative Genomics, announced today that he will donate $100,000 each to Davidson College and three other prestigious academic institutions for innovations in teaching biology. Botstein was one of eleven recipients of the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, announced earlier this year by Internet titans Yuri Milner, Sergey Brin, Anne Wojcicki and Mark Zuckerberg. Botstein will share $400,000 of his Breakthrough Award with Davidsons Professor of Biology A. Malcolm Campbell, as well as faculty at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory CSHL, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of California-San Francisco.\”With these awards, I recognize the successes of these four institutions in the development and delivery of educational programs that are furthering the field of biological research by training the next generation of breakthrough scientists,\” said Botstein. \”I have had the opportunity to participate in the development of these distinct programs and salute the institutions and the program leaders who have achieved the highest standards in science education.\”

If a female scientist is intelligent and tough enough to qualify to spend months on a mission with NASA, she should not need a male scientist to tell her EVERY SINGLE THING SHE HAS TO DO.

Including HOW TO BREATHE.

To the extent that she GIVES UP and SETTLES DOWN TO DIE until he COMES BACK FROM THE DEAD to tell her this one piece of information that she needs to get back to the earth.

Seriously. He COMES BACK FROM THE DEAD with this info, because DEAD MEN apparently have more knowledge and common sense than living women, even living scientist women. And Ryan Stone, Sandra Bullock\’s character, is so EMOTIONAL and FEARFUL and in need of a MAN to direct her that she would never survive without Mental Ghost Matt Kowalski.

The film has broken box office records by appealing to young and old, men and women, art-movie fans, sci-fi geeks and evangelical Christian reviewers.

Now heading into its third weekend, “Gravity” is an increasingly rare phenomenon: a movie that draws audiences in droves, yet also wins joyous praise from critics. Exhibitors are thrilled that word is out the film should be seen not at home but in theaters, on a big screen, with high-quality sound. Comedian Albert Brooks slyly underscored the rewards of the immersive big-screen experience, tweeting “Just watched Gravity on an iPhone. Not that impressed.”

Older people are acting like teens. “They’re calling the theater asking how 3-D works,” says Ted Mundorff, chief executive of Landmark Theatres, which operates 50 cinemas in 21 U.S. markets. “We’re getting people out of the house who haven’t been to a movie for 10 years or more.”

If current trends continue, “Gravity” is likely to end up grossing more than $500 million world-wide, territory rarely seen by movies that aren\’t based on a comic book or toy and released in summertime or holiday season. It is unlikely to approach the world-wide grosses of movies like this year’s No. 1 hit, “Iron Man 3,” which sold more than $1.2 billion in tickets around the world.

But the truth is, most of this doesn’t matter. Cuarón has given us a glimpse of the awe that is the universe beyond our atmosphere. And physics aside, he does it remarkably well.

My only hope is that we continue our exploration of space in real life, too. The majority of NASA employees have been furloughed as a result of the government shutdown. If Sandra Bullock’s Dr. Ryan were a real person, she’d still be waiting on the beach somewhere on planet Earth.

So, do me a favor. After you see “Gravity,” tell your member of Congress. Perhaps it will inspire them to put NASA employees back to work.

‘Ravenswood’, Twitter, WSJ.com: There is something circular about this ….

ABC Family has about 1.9 million reasons to be confident that \”Pretty Little Liars\” is ripe for a spinoff series, the channel\’s first. That was the number of messages about the hit show that flooded Twitter during a season finale in August, which set a standing record for the top-tweeted episode of any series on television.

The online gusto that propelled ratings of \”Pretty Little Liars,\” a feisty mystery series aimed at girls, also contributed to its creators\’ choice of which heartthrob character to feature on a spinoff—and when to introduce it. Starting with Tuesday\’s premiere of \”Ravenswood,\” a creepier story set in a different town, producers will monitor online reaction as they shape new story lines and characters.

\”We\’ll have access to the biggest focus group there is\” when the conversation about \”Ravenswood\” kicks in, says I. Marlene King, an executive producer of both shows.

Indeed, like the stars of \”PLL\” who have up to 3.2 million Twitter followers each, most of the show\’s writers and producers are in dialogue with fans. Last Saturday, as she finished writing a finale episode for next spring, Ms. King, who has 290,000 followers, tweeted quotes from the script and invited fans to guess which characters say them.

Requesting only four thousand-hundred million dollars from their fanbase, Radcliffe and DeHaan promise to deliver a scriptless movie with questionable acting talent and virtually no plot. “This is going to be an entirely improvised film,” emphasized Radcliffe. “All the best films are improvised: ‘Chronicles of Riddick,’ ‘Pitch Black,’ ‘Riddick…’”

The “concept art” movie takes place in Brooklyn, because Brooklyn “is like crazy hot right now” and focuses on the lives of Joey (Radcliffe) and his childhood friend, Captain Animal (DeHaan). Joey has an accent. There is lots of hardcore sex (actual, authentic sex). There is singing. And, as if that’s not enticing enough — for donations of $50 or more, droll “Harry Potter” star Alan Rickman will watch TV with you for entire evening.

Still, collections collect collectors. I can see that you understand. Isn’t it a miraculous scandal, how short our lives are? But my nuggets of Roman glass have not aged a day.

Our collections continually teach and form us. They teach us to upgrade, to refine, to jettison what is commonplace for something a bit more scarce. Without cohabiting alongside Ursula these 35 years, I could not have understood the very concept of sainthood, and could not have found “Saints Have Mothers,” a novella in my new book, “Local Souls.”

I have invested in these treasures and, perhaps more selflessly, seen to their weekly dusting. They are what I have instead of an invisible God or too many cats. True, no museum has ever begged for anything in here. But each masterwork matters to me. How did I afford them? They were bought with funds others blow on alimony, cocaine, boarding school tuition, orthodontics and veterinary bills.

A collection can warm up history. It can console you, a form of rosary-bead love. My diverse holdings signal to me that I am finally home; they give my still-gluttonous eyes unending hamster-wheel sprints. Familiar, beautiful, hand-chosen across a long life, these treasures are ivory-smoothed by an admiration spanning decades. They help me gather myself.

this and that, kith/kin, random: So an unnamed member of my kith/kin family “mentioned” that I was posting too much. He/she likes me to string them all together. Well, I will compromise. I will post my favorites daily, but will try to post a features page every few days. This will be the totally random or entertainment “features” post. I hope I get my good karma back from my readers. 🙂

This one is funny … who remembers Tilly? Well, the Tilly voice artist is the Siri voice artist, and she recorded the voice 8 years and did not know who it was for until friends recognized her voice. She now speaks to more than 100 million people through what at the time of the recording was a not-yet-invented phone

From Tilly to Siri. Who else remembers Tilly!?!

For the past two years, she’s been a pocket and purse accessory to millions of Americans. She’s starred alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel. She’s ‘s provided weather forecasts and restaurant tips, been mocked as useless and answered absurd questions about what she’s wearing.

She is Siri, Apple’s voice-activated virtual “assistant” introduced to the masses with the iPhone 4S on October 4, 2011.

Behind this groundbreaking technology there is a real woman. While the ever-secretive Apple has never identified her, all signs indicate that the original voice of Siri in the United States is a voiceover actor who laid down recordings for a client eight years ago. She had no idea she’d someday be speaking to more than 100 million people through a not-yet-invented phone.

I’ve posted several times on 3 D printers. Now technology duplicates art … in 3d. Look at the strokes!

The London based married couple and artist team, with no relation to this Nick Carter, tapped into the burgeoning 3D printing trend to bring Van Goghs beloved bouquet out of the frame and into the real world.The team began by turning the paintings into completely three-dimensional files, then printing them in wax bronze. The process allowed for shocking levels of precision in the translation between brush stroke and sculptural shape.

Is having open-plan bathrooms just the natural extension of our open kitchens and a general global modern-day tendency to open up our living spaces and live in lofts or loftlike spaces? Is it an extension of the idea that bathrooms aren’t just functional necessities but spa-like focal points of our sanctuary-like homes? Or has the erosion of privacy in our public lives just made us all more comfortable being overexposed, even at home?

Rousseau thinks it’s a generational question. “I think with age we look for ways to seduce by modest gestures and by covering ourselves up,” she says. “I don’t see myself proposing an open bathroom to older people; they need much more privacy.”

The magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Pakistan\’s Baluchistan province created a small island visible off the southern coast. The Pakistani Navy visited the island and captured video of the newly formed landmass. Photo: Getty Images

This is along the same lines as the tiny libraries or random act of kindness? Would you take a book? Would you leave a book?

You happen to be visiting London this summer (or heck maybe you live there), there’s a chance you’ll find books left on the seat of some bus or subway for you. Books on the Underground is a really simple idea: leave a book you love for a stranger to find and ask them to release it back into the world when they are done with it.

A simple sticker on the cover explains the idea to the book’s finder–and karma does the rest.